Music Lessons in Islip, NY

Instruments: Guitar Drums Bass Guitar Electric Guitar Acoustic Guitar

What advice do you have about practicing effectively?
Practice and discipline. It always comes down to practice and discipline. However, many times practice would seem boring but that only happens when practice patterns aren’t giving the expected results, and that’s a result of incorrect approaches. I can teach you how to make your practice fun and unique. Results will immediately be evident, however that will only happen when you take practicing as serious as you take your goals and dreams. To reach a place where you’ve never been, you’d have to do something you’ve never done.

How do I know if my child is ready to start lessons?
Your child will show little hints that parents should pay attention to. For example, when children can play short melodies on piano, guitar, etc. without any previous lessons. Another way parents can tell if their children are ready is when they ask for an instrument and they pick them up with great easiness. However, age has a lot to do if their children are ready or not. Parents should wait until children are around 10-11 years old to register them for one to one lessons. But once they start taking lessons, don’t let them quit those lessons just because they’re getting challenging. Perseverance and discipline.

When will I start to see results?
That only depends on the child’s commitment and seriousness. But if the student seriously commits, parents will see results sooner than they think. Getting your child music lessons isn’t money spent that you will never see anymore, it’s an investment and also the greatest you can give to your child. I can assure, if the child is pushed with love and discipline, results will be self-evident much sooner than expected. There’s nothing, absolutely nothing, you child can’t achieve with proper practicing.

Did you have a teacher that inspired you to go into music? How did they inspire you?
Actually, my first motivation to pick up an instrument was my older brother. I remember seeing my older brother playing drums in church (and girls screaming!!) and I wanted that so bad!! After that, I started learning music on my own, self-taught. However, I reached a point where I couldn’t learn anything by myself anymore. That’s when I decided to go to college for a music degree and there hasn’t been one day when I regretted that decision. Music has taken me to places I’ve never dreamed before.

Why did you choose your primary instrument?
The guitar has been my primary instrument for ten years now. I have been a serious guitarist for ten years always striving for the best quality of playing skills. The guitar is a very personal musical instrument. After you make that connection to the guitar, it actually turns into an extension of your own body. It’s seem like if you’re not playing your guitar, or at least having right next to you, there’s something fundamental missing. Your soul flows through the tip of your fingers and becoming immortal melodies in that guitar.

What musical accomplishments are you most proud of?
For starters, having gone to music school is an accomplishment on its own. Music school is tough (even though it might not seem like it). Another big accomplishment to me is getting myself as a respected musician in NYC with just two years of music training (It’s my plan to further my music education). Also, performing at Austin City Limits is an experience like nothing else. Watching that sea of souls vibrating along with my guitar solos, screaming my name was something that just blew my mind away.

What do you think is the hardest thing to master on your instrument?
Even up until this point the hardest thing is to play the right notes at the exact right time. Mindless shredding, trying to impress with playing fast and sloppy is the easiest thing, but playing flawless and with feeling is still a challenge. Two or three notes, but playing carefully and filled with sentiment isn’t the easiest thing to do. Although with practice everything is possible. Melodic playing should be a ever-lasting goal, playing according to the original melodic but always putting one’s own spin must be an objective for every musician.

What does a normal practice session look like for you?
First of all, the first lesson I assess the student’s level and mastery of the instrument. Each student, each guitarist is unique therefore each needs and deserves an unique approach. After so, I spend some time teaching a quick glance in theory so the student will appreciate the the guitar as a perfect instrument. Then I implement improvisation skills by analyzing the student’s soul. Like I said, each student is a whole different world, unrepeatable and unreplaceable.

If you have a Music Degree, what is it in (Performance, Education, Musicology, Theory, Composition, etc) and why did you choose that degree?
I hold music degree in performance.

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